I tried Nigella's today and it wasn't any good. No sugar at all, and nowhere near enough spice, although she has a nice trick of steeping the milk in cardamom pods (in? with? which is the steeper and which the steepee?)

Google Dan Lepard's 'Spiced Stout Hot Cross Buns'. They are easy to make (minimal kneading) and the best hot cross buns I have ever tasted. I've made them three times already this year and given them to a variety of family and friends who all rave about them. They are dark, moist, fruity, spicy and absolutely perfect. Dan Lepard is a British baker who specialists in yeasted things and is a bit of an expert; his recipes are designed for the home baker and are intended to be easy and fail proof. Since discovering him we no longer buy any bread; I make it all at home and every single recipe of his I've tried has worked without fail. Big rap, I know, but two months ago I could NOT make bread, and overnight I could!

I am a sucker for anything with tea in it. My best cake recipe has a cup of tea, and it's divine. But 875g of flour! That's two dozen rolls. I might have to see if they freeze...

They make about 18, Spartacus. And they do freeze.

The other trick I'd recommend is shaping them tightly before the final rise, even though it's sticky business. I oiled my hands, patted 100 g flat in my hands, rolled it up like a jelly cake, and then folded the long ends under also so all the seams were underneath. And gave them a bit of room on the pan so they barely touched. That made nice 'pert' buns rather than ones that oozed out sideways as they rose, if that makes sense.

MsN, thank you! They are just delicious! I think the sultanas are a bit tea-ish, so next time I might make a weaker cup. But they are perfect, esp wrt to texture. I could not believe how wet the dough was, but they rose up beautifully (I used the roll shaping method from the Bread Baker's Apprentice).

Thanks! I'm torn now about trying the cider recipe. How can you improve on perfection?

Glad everyone enjoyed the Dan lepard buns! Honestly, this guys has changed my life. I want to start a dan lepard fan club!

I just use Guinness. You're supposed to use a milk stout but try are a by boutique and even though my local bottle shop sells one, it's only in 750 ml lots and $13... And who is going to drink the rest? So a $4 can of guinness for me!

The fruit/stout/flour mix should be sloppy not dry - you only put in part of the flour at the start...

Up early to make his new cider hot cross buns for today... Can't wait!

I'll be waiting to see what you think of the cider ones then, I want to make them too but don't have all the ingredients.

with the stout ones mine were nice but I didn't leave them to rise for the full 90 mins as I was going out so they were a bit heavy. But I loved the tea soaked fruit they were really juicy! And I don't like tea!

The fruit/stout/flour mix should be sloppy not dry - you only put in part of the flour at the start...

Oh dear, I think I am in trouble then! Mine was very dry. I have just put the rest together and it is still dry and I am having trouble making it stick together. When I measure out the remaining 550gm of flour from my 1kg box there was hardly any left - well under the 125gm that should have remained - so I must have mucked up the initial flour weight. I didn't add it all at this step though, so I still have about 100gm flour remaining. I have added a few tspns of stout to try and improve the texture. Fingers crossed it works.

To everyone who made the spiced stout buns on my recommendation.... Against all odds and unbelievably (since the stout ones are pretty awesome) - the cider ones are EVEN BETTER!

They are a bit more 'cakey' than the stout ones, but with a lighter flavour and texture - the richness of the stout ones comes from the flavours of tea and stout, but the richness of this one is the bun itself.

I made the stout ones last night/this morning & they are so delicious. I used Kilkenny & it didn't occur to me to wait till the head went down, I'll do that with the next batch as i did find the mix dry when mixing the 550g of flour in this morning. They didn't rise quite as much as I'd thought they would but the density is pretty nice & the flavour is brilliant. By far the best hcb yet. I bought cider to try that one out as well, thanks so much for the recipes MsN!

I had a first go (along with 2 "helpers" aged 4 and 8) at the recipe that was in the SMH yesterday or the day before (came from Sydney Easter show winner). While containing no cider or stout, it WAS easy and very tasty - and worked out first try! (made 15 and all gone already: 2 each except that 8 yr old got 3, 3 to neighbours, and one no one is owning up to eating!)

Except for the 2 year old "knocking" about 20% of the dry mix on the floor in the first step (and having to "guestimate" replacement), running out of mixed spice, not having mixed dry fruit or peel (plain sultanas) and the 12 year old reading "without knocking the air out" as "knocking the air out" in the second to last step, edible!!!

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With the cooler weather upon us, here is a collection of easy winter inspired cut, sew, knit crafts that you can do with the kids. There are glove monsters, no-sew scarfs, and sock snowmen. Winter is a great time to get crafting.

Fidgets and other sensory hand held toys are a great way to encourage attention and concentration. We all love to rock on a chair and click our pens or chew gum to stay alert and attentive, so why not let children have functional and socially acceptable fidgets too, to help them learn and keep them focused on learning.